''The Love Punch'' is a 2013 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by

Joel Hopkins Joel Hopkins (born 6 September 1970) is a British independent film director and screenwriter best known for his films ''Jump Tomorrow'' (2001) and ''Last Chance Harvey'' (2008). Career Hopkins was born in London, England, he moved to New Yor ...

. It was screened in the Gala Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

Richard ( Pierce Brosnan) and Kate Jones ( Emma Thompson) are divorcees with two children Sophie and Matt. Richard's company is sold to a corrupt French businessman, Vincent (

Laurent Lafitte Laurent Lafitte (born 22 August 1973) is a French actor. He is known for playing the role of Patrick in ''Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, tog ...

), and the company's pension plan is lost, including all of Richard and Kate's investments for the whole family. They go to Paris and confront Vincent, where Vincent does not deny all the things he did legally, if not morally. Richard and Kate plot to get their money back. They find out that Vincent is marrying his beautiful girlfriend, Manon (

Louise Bourgoin Louise Bourgoin (; born Ariane Louise Bourgoin, 28 November 1981) is a French actress, model and television presenter. Life and career She was born on 28 November 1981 in Rennes. Bourgoin's parents, both secondary level teachers, encouraged ...

). They plan to steal the diamond Vincent gave to Manon, which is worth over $10 million, intending for this to replace the pension money Vincent took from the company. Learning of Vincent's upcoming wedding, Richard and Kate follow Vincent and Manon to the south of France. After Kate makes contact with Manon at a beach party, Richard and Kate enlist their friends Jerry and Penelope to help them impersonate a group of Texans attending the party, with the intention that they will infiltrate the party and switch the diamond for a fake, also passing on the diamond to Jerry and Penelope so that they will not be suspected. Having infiltrated the wedding, the Joneses attempt to take the diamond, but are interrupted by a tearful Manon, who confesses her doubts about the wedding to Kate. After Kate offers her advice on marriage, Manon learns about their motives for being there and decides to give them the diamond of her own free will. Vincent realizes the switch after Manon officially calls the wedding off, but Jerry and Penelope are able to get out with the diamond after Jerry swallows it. Richard and Kate are nearly sent over a cliff in a van, but Manon is able to intercept the van and save them, allowing Kate to call a contact with a boat to pick them up. Selling the diamond to a contact of Jerry's for $15 million, Richard and Kate decide to spend some time traveling while Jerry and Penelope take the money back to donate it to Richard's former employees.

Cast

* Emma Thompson as Kate Jones * Pierce Brosnan as Richard Jones *

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...

as Penelope *

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. Spall performed in '' ...

as Jerry *

as Manon Fontane *

as Vincent Kruger *

Marisa Berenson Vittoria Marisa Schiaparelli Berenson (born February 15, 1947) is an American actress and model. She appeared on the front covers of ''Vogue'' and ''Time'', and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as ...

as Catherine * Olivier Chantreau as Jean-Baptiste Durain *

Ellen Thomas Ellen Thomas (born January 24, 1947) is an American peace activist. She first became involved with the White House Peace Vigil on April 13, 1984. The daughter of a US Marine, Thomas was born in Brooklyn and grew up in California. She became opp ...

as Doreen *

Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appea ...

as Sophie Jones * Jack Wilkinson as Matt Jones * Adam Byron as Tyler *

John Ramm John Ramm is an English comedian and actor. He plays Raymond Box in the National Theatre of Brent, and has also appeared on film and television in ''Robin Hood'' (" Will You Tolerate This?"), ''The Palace'', ''Foyle's War'' ("All Clear") and as ...

as Ken *

Eleanor Matsuura Eleanor Matsuura is a British actress best known for her roles as Yumiko in '' The Walking Dead'', Hannah Santo in '' Spooks: The Greater Good'', Bev in ''Utopia'' and as PC Donna Prager in ''Cuffs''. Early life Matsuura was born in Tokyo and r ...

as Michaela *

Linda Hardy Linda Hardy (born 11 October 1973) is a French actress and model. Life and career Hardy won the title of Miss France in 1992, and represented her country at Miss Universe 1992, Miss World 1992, and Miss Europe 1992. She then launched an acti ...

as Glaxo secretary *

Sabine Crossen Sabine Crossen is a French American actress and director. Early life Born in Béthune, Hauts-de-France, France, to an American father and a French mother, Sabine Crossen grew up in New Zealand before settling at age 20 in Paris, France where ...

as Texan couple woman 1 *

Julie Ordon Julie Ordon (born June 27, 1984) is a Swiss model and actress. Career Modeling Ordon, the youngest of four sisters, moved to Paris in 1999 after winning a talent contest and signing a contract with now-defunct Madison Models Agency. She ...

as Girl 1 beach club * Tom Morton as Tim *

Catriona MacColl Catriona MacColl (born 3 October 1954) is an English actress who has worked extensively in both film and television across Europe. She is best known for her work in Italian horror films, as she has appeared in Lucio Fulci's '' City of the Living ...

as Wedding guest

Reception

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...

, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', gave the film 3 stars saying that it is an "entirely ridiculous, cheerfully daft and very amiable midlife comedy".

References

External links

* * 2010s British films 2010s English-language films 2010s heist films 2013 films 2013 comedy films British comedy films British heist films Comedy of remarriage films Films set in Paris Films set in Cannes {{2010s-UK-comedy-film-stub